Famous Potters of Bizen pottery

There are many potters in Bizen city. I introduce you four famous
potters such as Toyo Kaneshige, Kei Fujiwara, Toshu Yamamoto, and Yu
Fujiwara. Lets see their backgrounds, techniques of Bizen pottery, and
so on.

Toyo Kaneshige(1896~1967)-a living national treasure-

His family has been potters from father to son. He devoted himself to
the reconstruction of Ko-bizen(=This was Bizen pottery which was made
around the Momoyama period.)in the Momoyama period. To reconstruct
this, he studied various kinds of kaolin, the structure of kiln, the way
of Kamazume(=Workmen of Bizen pottery put potteries into the kiln), and
the firing of Bizen pottery. He was called "a restorer of Bizen
pottery."

Kei Fujiwara(1899~1983)-a living national treasure-

He was born in a farmhouse. He devoted himself to literature when he
was young. However he broke down when he was thirty eight. He changed
his job many times. Also he had the Great Kanto Earthquake. After
that, he changed his course, and began making Bizen pottery. Compared
to Toyo Kaneshige, he devoted himself to Ko-bizen in the Kamakura and
the Muromachi periods. He emphasized "simplicity" and "powerfulness" in
his works.

Toshu Yamamoto(1906~1994)-a living national treasure-

He was born in a farmhouse. He became a workman at a pottery when he
was fifteen. He devoted himself to the technique of potters wheel. He
was called "an expert of potters wheel." In his works he emphasized
"sharpness." While he devoted himself to the technique of potters
wheel, he also was interested in the tea ceremony. Many of his works
were Cha-ire(=This is a bottle which keeps Japanese green tea.). The
reason why he liked Cha-ire so much, probably he thought, was that
Cha-ire was best among tea-things.

Yu Fujiwara(1932 ~ )-a living national treasure-

His father was Kei Fujiwara. After he was graduated from college, he
became an assistant for his father. He consistently has used
soil(=kaolin)which is digged out in Bizen area and a potters wheel.
When he makes works he emphasizes "simplicity," "lucidity," and "manly
and open-hearted." In his works pots are especially popular. There are
many fans who love them.